Transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system

ABSTRACT

A transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system includes an IC card storing electronic monetary information and an identification number, an IC card read/write unit for reading and/or writing information in/from the IC card, a key control unit for controlling locking and unlocking of a door of the article receiving/housing unit, an identification number storing unit for storing identification number of the IC card, an amount-of-money information storing unit for storing amount-of-money information, a collating unit for collating the identification number stored in the identification number storing unit with the identification number read out from the IC card, and a line control unit for transferring the electronic monetary information via transmission line. For utilizing the article receiving/housing unit, the IC card is inserted, whereby the article receiving/housing unit is locked. For taking out article from the article receiving/housing unit, the IC card is inserted, whereby the article receiving/housing unit is unlocked with the accounting being settled. Cashless transaction can be realized.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The application relates to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/539,163filed on Oct. 4, 1995 entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CHARGING FEE FORVIDEO INFORMATION", by Shigeyuki Ito, et al. and assigned to HITACHI,LTD., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a transaction-orientedelectronic accommodation system such as an electronic home-by-home (ordoor-to-door) delivery service/reception system, an electronic laundryservice/reception system, an IC-card-operated electronic locker system,an IC-card type electronic parking meter system and the like. Suchsystems are adapted for performing control and management of boxes orcompartments or zones destined for accommodating articles in a broadestsense, as well as monetary transactions associated therewith, by makinguse of an electronic wallet system.

As the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system of the typementioned above, there has been proposed in JP-A-3-92966 (JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 92966/1991) an electronicmoney system in which an IC card (integrated-circuit card) is used forrealizing commercial transactions in a completely cashless manner (i.e.,without involving monetary transactions in cash).

Similar systems are also disclosed in the publications of JP-A-5-287946,JP-A-5-46633 and JP-A-432050.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide atransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system such as anelectronic home-by-home delivery service/reception system, an electroniclaundry service/reception system, an IC-card-operated electronic lockersystem, a parking meter system and the like, in which the principleunderlying an electronic money system is made use of. Such allowsmonetary transactions associated therewith to be performed in a cashlessmanner using an IC card, while allowing the IC card to also be used askeys for locking and unlocking accommodation units or boxes to therebyrender unnecessary all of the management of keys, handling of money andbill collecting.

In view of the above and other objects which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, there is provided according to an aspect of thepresent invention, a transaction-oriented electronic accommodationsystem which includes an IC card storing electronic monetary informationand an identification number. Further, there are included: an IC cardread/write unit for reading and/or writing information in/from the ICcard, an IC card control unit for controlling loading and discharge ofthe IC card into/from the accommodation system, an articlereceiving/housing unit such as a box for accommodating therein anarticle, a key control unit for controlling locking and unlocking of adoor of the article receiving/housing unit, an identification numberstoring unit for storing the identification number of the IC card, anamount-of-money information storing unit for storing amount-of-moneyinformation, a collating unit for collating the identification numberstored in the identification number storing unit with the identificationnumber read out from the IC card, and a line control unit fortransferring the electronic monetary information with a centralizedmanagement unit via transmission line or channel.

Upon accommodation of an article within the article receiving/housingunit such as a box, a compartment, a zone or the like, theidentification number read out from the IC card is stored in theidentification number storing unit, and the door of the articlereceiving/housing unit is locked under the control of the key controlunit. Further, upon taking out of the article from the articlereceiving/housing unit, the door thereof is unlocked by the key underthe control of the key control unit, only when coincidence is found bythe collating unit between the identification number stored in theidentification number storing incorporated in the system unit and theidentification number read out from the IC card as inserted.Furthermore, upon taking out of the article from the articlereceiving/housing unit, the amount of money to be charged forutilization of the accommodation system is subtracted from deposit moneyrecorded in the IC card by means of the IC card read/write unit. Acorresponding amount-of-money information is then sent to thecentralized management unit such as a management center via atransmission line such as a telephone circuit, only when monetaryinformation is stored in the monetary information storing unit.

By applying the principle underlying the electronic money system to thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system such as a lockersystem, a home-by-home delivery system and others, the articlereceiving/housing unit can be locked upon starting the use thereof independence on the ID number of the IC card as inserted. Similarly,taking out the article from the article receiving/housing unit,unlocking of the article receiving/housing unit and the accountingsettlement processing are performed simply by inserting the IC card inthe transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system. Similaradvantageous effects can be realized in the locker system as well. Thus,the user of the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system canget rid of a a burden for managing the key for unlocking the articlereceiving/housing unit, while allowing the accounting to be settled atthe same time even when payment upon reception of the article isrequired. Thus, transaction can be realized in the cashless manner(i.e., without involving monetary transactions in cash).

In the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according toanother aspect of the present invention, an IC card is used as asubstitute means for payment in cash by writing the monetary information(amount-of-money information) in the IC card, while the ID informationrecorded in the IC card is made use of for locking and unlocking thearticle receiving/housing unit such as a box, compartment or the like.To this end, the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system iscomprised of a unit for reading out the ID information from the IC cardas inserted, a unit for storing the ID information, a unit forcontrolling locking/unlocking of the article receiving/housing unit, aunit for storing the ID information, a unit for controlling thelocking/unlocking key by collating the input ID information with thestored ID information, a unit for measuring a time, a unit forcalculating an amount of money to be charged on the basis of theinformation concerning the time as measured, a unit for rewriting orupdating the monetary information recorded in the IC card in dependenceof the amount-of-money information as charged, and a unit fortransferring the monetary information with a center for centralizedmanagement.

With the arrangement of the transaction-oriented electronicaccommodation system described above, the IC card carrying the monetaryinformation and the ID information can be used in association with thearticle receiving/housing unit. Thus, the transaction-orientedelectronic accommodation system can be utilized even when the user hasno money in cash or no coins. Besides, utilization of thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system can be realizedsatisfactorily for the user even in the case where thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system or the articlereceiving/housing unit is used only for a short time, because the fee ascharged is calculated on the basis of the time for which the system hasbeen utilized.

Thus, with the arrangement of the transaction oriented electronicaccommodation system according to the present invention, the facilitiesor services which require instantaneous settlement of the accounting forthe utilization as well as identification of the user can be realizedwithout need for monetary transaction in cash, to great advantages.

The above and other objects, features and attendant advantages of thepresent invention will more easily be understood by reading thefollowing description of the preferred embodiments thereof taken, onlyby way of example, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the course of the description which follows, reference is made to thedrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a general arrangement of an electronichome-by-home (or door-to-door) delivery service/reception system as anapplication of a transaction-oriented electronic accommodation systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a structure of an ID number storageunit incorporated in the system;

FIG. 3 is a view for illustrating a structure of a family ID numberinformation storing area used in the system shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for illustrating operation of the electronichome-by-home delivery service/reception system;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart for illustrating operations of the electronichome-by-home delivery service/reception system according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a general arrangement of an electronichome-by-home (or door-to-door) delivery service/reception systemimplemented by applying a transaction-oriented electronic accommodationsystem according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow chart for illustrating operations of the electronichome-by-home (or door-to-door) delivery service/reception systemaccording to the invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a general arrangement of an electroniclaundry service/reception system implemented by applying atransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according toanother embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for illustrating operations of the electroniclaundry service/reception system;

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for illustrating operations of the electroniclaundry service/reception system shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of an IC-card-operatedelectronic locker implemented by applying a transaction-orientedelectronic accommodation system according to another embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing another exemplary embodiment of theIC-card-operated electronic locker system according to the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe IC-card-operated electronic locker system according to theinvention;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing still another exemplary embodiment ofthe IC-card-operated electronic locker system;

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a further exemplary embodiment of thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention applied to an IC-card-operated electronic locker system;

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing yet further exemplary embodiment ofthe transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according tothe invention applied to an IC-card-operated electronic locker system;

FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing still further exemplary embodiment ofthe transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according tothe invention applied to an IC-card-operated electronic locker system;

FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing a further exemplary embodiment of thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention applied to an IC-card-operated electronic locker system;

FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of an electronicparking meter system to which the concept underlying atransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to thepresent invention is applied;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing another exemplary embodiment of thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention applied to an electronic parking meter system;

FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing yet another exemplary embodiment ofthe transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according tothe invention applied to an electronic parking meter system;

FIG. 22 is a block diagram showing still another exemplary embodiment ofthe transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according tothe invention applied to an electronic parking meter system;

FIG. 23 is a block diagram showing a further exemplary embodiment of thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention applied to an electronic parking meter system;

FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing yet further exemplary embodiment ofthe transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according tothe invention applied to an electronic parking meter system;

FIG. 25 is a block diagram showing still further exemplary embodiment ofthe transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according tothe invention applied to an electronic parking meter system; and

FIG. 26 is a block diagram showing a further exemplary embodiment of thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system applied to anelectronic parking meter system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be described in detail in conjunction withwhat is presently considered as preferred or typical embodiments andapplications thereof by reference to the drawings. In the followingdescription, like reference characters designate like or correspondingparts throughout the several views.

Now, referring to FIGS. 1 to 10, description will be made of atransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to anexemplary embodiment of the invention. More specifically, the instantembodiment of the invention is directed to an electronic home-by-home(or door-to-door) delivery/reception system, which is one of typicalapplications which the transaction-oriented electronic accommodationsystem according to the invention is applicable. FIG. 1 shows in a blockdiagram, a general arrangement of the electronic home-by-home (ordoor-to-door) delivery service/reception system. In the figure,reference character 1a designates generally the transaction-orientedelectronic accommodation system applied to an electronic deliveryservice/reception system, I denotes an article receiving/housing unit, 2denotes a key, 3 denotes a key control unit, 4 denotes an IC cardcontrol unit, 5 denotes an IC card read/write unit, 6 denotes a displayunit, 7 denotes an arithmetic processing unit, 8 denotes a line controlunit, 9 denotes an input key, 10 denotes an amount-of-money informationstorage unit, and numeral 11 denotes an ID number storage unit.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing, by way of example only, a structureof the ID number storage unit 11. As can be seen in the figure, the IDnumber storage unit 11 is comprised of an input/output control unit 12,a receiver (addressee) ID number storing area 13, an authorized dealerID number storing area 14, and a family ID number information storingarea 15. The receiver ID number storing area 13 is destined for storingthe ID number (identification number) of a receiver or destination foran article to be delivered. However, so long as the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 remains empty, none is stored in the receiverID number storing area 13. On the other hand, the authorized dealer IDnumber storing area 14 is destined for storing the ID number of theauthorized dealer, in order to ensure that only the authorized dealer ordeliveryman can place or put an article or articles in the articlereceiving/housing unit 1. Further, the family ID number informationstoring area 15 is destined to store the ID numbers of IC cards carriedby individuals resident in separate rooms, of one and the same building.FIG. 3 shows, by way of example, a structure of the family ID numberinformation storing area 15.

At first, the concept or principle of the invention underlying thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system applied to theelectronic delivery service/reception system 1a will be described ingeneral. It is assumed that the electronic delivery service/receptionsystem 1a of concern is usually installed at an entrance of a collectivehouse building such as, for example, an apartment house, a so-calledmansion or the like. A deliveryman puts an article or articles in thearticle receiving/housing unit 1 and locks it by using the key 2. On theother hand, the receiver or addressee can open the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 by using his or her own key 2, to thereby takeout the article(s) from the article receiving/housing unit 1. Thus, theelectronic delivery service/reception system 1a allows the deliverymanto deliver article or articles even when the addressee or receiver(s) isabsent, and is very advantageous for the delivery of article(s) or goodsto the houses which are prone to be unoccupied in the daytime, such asstudent's residences, dual-income families or the like. Additionally, byadopting the electronic home-by-home (or door-to-door) deliveryservice/reception system, the ID number of the IC card can be made useof as the key 2 for the electronic delivery service/reception system 1a.In addition, the accounting as involved can be easily settled by makinguse of so-called electronic money when it is required upon reception ofthe article as delivered. In the case of the system shown in FIG. 1, itis assumed that a plurality of electronic delivery service/receptionsystems 1a are provided for each of the collective house building orapartment house and the like, and that the addressee can receive thedelivered article by using freely any one of the electronic deliveryservice/reception systems 1a. It should, however, be appreciated thatthe electronic delivery service/reception system 1a may be installed inone-to-one correspondence with respect to a home or family.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart for illustrating operation performed by adeliveryman for the door-to-door delivery service by using his or herelectronic wallet in association with delivering an article.

When the deliveryman unlocks the article receiving/housing unit 1 of theelectronic delivery service/reception system 1a by using his or her ownIC card, it is required for the deliveryman to register the informationabout the addressee or receiver of an article for delivery andinformation-concerning the amount of money when the accounting has to besettled upon transfer of the article. Accordingly, the deliverymaninserts his or her own IC card into the electronic wallet beforedelivery (step Sll), to thereby allow the room number of the addresseeor destination for the delivery to be written in the IC card (step S12).Further, when the settlement of the amount of money charged for thedelivery is required upon transfer of the article (step S13), thedeliveryman is required to write the information about the amount ofmoney in the IC card (step S14). In this conjunction, it is presumedthat the information as to the room numbers of all the addressees andthe information concerning the amounts of money to be charged are storedin the electronic wallet, and then with manipulation of the input key 9by the deliveryman, the information as to the room number of theaddressee who is to receive next an article as well as the informationabout the amount of money to be charged, is stored in a memoryincorporated in the IC card.

Upon completion of writing of the information mentioned above in the ICcard carried by the deliveryman, the IC card is discharged from theelectronic wallet (step S15), whereupon the processing comes to an end(step S16).

At this juncture, it should be mentioned that the delivery slip (i.e.,slip for the delivery) itself may be an IC card. In that case, thedeliveryman can get rid of the burden for writing the informationconcerning the room number of the addressee as well as the amount ofmoney to be charged upon every delivery.

After the operation described above, the deliveryman places the articleconcerned in the article receiving/housing unit 1 of the electronicdelivery service/reception system 1a shown in FIG. 1, and locks thesystem by using the key 2. Later on, the addressee can receive thearticle by opening the electronic delivery service/reception system 1aby using the key 2. FIG. 5 is a flow chart for illustrating theprocessing performed by an addressee upon receiving an article destinedto him or her from the electronic delivery service/reception system 1a.

At first, description will be directed to operation required for thedeliveryman to place an article into the article receiving/housing unit1 of the electronic delivery service/reception system 1a. When thedeliveryman inserts his or her IC card in a card receiving slot of theelectronic delivery service/reception system 1a (step S21), the IC cardis fed into the system 1a under the control of the IC card control unit4. Subsequently, the ID number of the IC card as inserted is read out bythe IC card read/write unit 5, whereupon the relevant ID information issupplied to the arithmetic processing unit 7 (step S22). The arithmeticprocessing unit 7 then checks whether or not the ID number of theaddressee who is duly to receive the article is stored in the addresseeID number storing area 13 (step S23). Unless the ID number of theaddressee is stored in the addressee ID number storing area 13, thismeans that the article receiving/housing unit 1 is empty. In that case,the processing branches to a routine illustrated at a right-hand side ofFIG. 5 for allowing the deliveryman to place the article in the articlereceiving/housing unit 1.

Subsequently, it is checked in a step S50 whether or not the ID numberof the IC card carried by the deliveryman is registered in theauthorized dealer ID number storing area 14. When it is confirmed in thestep S50 that the deliveryman is an authorized dealer, the processingproceeds to a succeeding step. On the other hand, when it is found thatthe deliveryman is not the authorized dealer, the IC card is rejected ordischarged from the electronic delivery service/reception system 1a,making it impossible for the deliveryman to place the article in thearticle receiving/housing unit 1. Owing to the processing routinedescribed above, it is only the authorized dealer or deliveryman thatcan place the article in the article receiving/housing unit 1. Thus,security of the article receiving/housing unit 1 and hence theelectronic delivery service/reception system 1a can positively beensured with high reliability.

Now, it is assumed that the deliveryman is the authorized dealer,information about the room number of the addressee duly to receive thearticle (which information is stored in the memory of the IC card) isread out by the IC card read/write unit 5 in a step S51. Additionally,information about the amount of money is read out by the IC cardread/write unit 5 when the fee for the delivery is to be chargedsimultaneously in the step S51. In case the room number of the addresseeis registered in the family ID number information storing area 15 in astep S52, the article receiving/housing unit 1 is opened by unlockingthe key 2 in a step S53. However, when the room number as read out isnot registered, this means that no destination for the delivery existsin the building currently visited. Consequently, the IC card is returnedto the deliveryman (step S62), whereupon the processing now underconsideration comes to an end in a step S63. Such situation may occurwhen the deliveryman has entered or registered erroneously theinformation about the addressee or when the deliveryman is going toplace the article erroneously in the electronic deliveryservice/reception system 1a installed in association with another ordifferent building.

When the article receiving/housing unit 1 is unlocked with the key 2,the room number of the addressee is displayed on the display unit 6 in astep 54, indicating that the article has been placed into the articlereceiving/housing unit 1. Additionally, the ID numbers of the individualaddressees are read out from the family ID number information storingarea 15 by making use of the information about the addressee's roomnumber. Subsequently, the ID number as read out is registered in theaddressee ID number storing area 13 in a step S55. Similarly, when theinformation about the amount of money is read out from the IC card inthe step S56, the amount of money is displayed on the display unit 6 ina step S57 and stored at the same time in the amount-of-moneyinformation storage unit 10 in a step S58.

In this conjunction, such arrangement may equally be adopted that theinformation about the amount of money displayed on the display unit 6disappears once having been displayed, and that it can be displayedagain upon insertion of the IC card by the addressee. In that case,however, only such accounting (or billing) information may constantly bedisplayed so that the addressee can understand that the delivery feemust be paid upon reception of the article before he or she inserts theIC card in the article receiving/housing unit 1. Parenthetically, it isequally conceivable to display constantly the room number as well as theinformation about the amount of money, and additionally, the informationabout the dispatcher and identity of the article being delivered can bedisplayed, as occasion requires. To this end, the deliveryman may inputin his or her IC card the information about the dispatcher and theidentity of the article for delivery, so that the information mentionedabove can be read out to be displayed on the display unit 6 afterinsertion of the IC card in the electronic delivery service/receptionsystem 1a. Furthermore, the display unit 6 for displaying theinformation about the door-to-door delivery service may be installed ona family-by family basis so that the residents in the individual roomscan know of storage of the articles destined to them, respectively,while they are in their own rooms.

When the deliveryman places the article in the article receiving/housingunit 1 in step S59, he or she can push the input key 9 for messaging theend of the delivery processing to the arithmetic processing unit 7 (stepS60). As a result of this, the article receiving/housing unit 1 islocked by the key 2 under the control of the key control unit 3 in astep S61. Besides, the IC card is fed out from the electronic deliveryservice/reception system 1a under the control of the IC card controlunit 4 in a step S62, whereupon operation required for the deliverymanto place the article of concern within the article receiving/housingunit 1 is terminated in a step S63.

Now, description will turn to operation involved in reception of thearticle by the addressee from the article receiving/housing unit 1. Whenthe addressee or receiver inserts his or her own IC card into the cardinsertion slot in a step S21, the IC card is fed into the electronicdelivery service/reception system 1a under the control of the IC cardcontrol unit 4. In succession, the ID number of the IC card is read outby the IC card read/write unit 5 to be subsequently supplied to thearithmetic processing unit 7 in a step S22. Then, the arithmeticprocessing unit 7 confirms or checks whether or not the ID number of thedue addressee is stored in the addressee ID number storing area 13 in astep S23. In this conjunction, it should be noted that when an articledestined to the addressee is housed within the article receiving/housingunit 1, this means that the ID number of the addressee is registered.Thus, it can be decided in a step S24 whether or not the ID number readout from the IC card coincides with the registered ID number of theaddressee. When no coincidence is detected between the registered IDnumber of the addressee and the ID number read out from the IC card, theIC card is rejected or discharged from the electronic deliveryservice/reception system 1a, and thus the article can not be taken outfrom the article receiving/housing unit 1. In this way, reception of thearticle by an unauthorized person or stealing of the article canpositively be prevented. When the information concerning the amount ofmoney is found as being registered in the amount-of-money informationstorage unit 10 in a step S25, this means that the delivery fee has tobe collected or charged upon reception of the article. Consequently,information about the deposit balance is read out from the IC card in astep S26 for confirming whether or not the amount of money to be chargedcan be afforded (step S27). If the delivery fee can not be afforded bythe remaining amount of money, this fact is displayed on the displayunit 6 in a step S40. Thereafter, the IC card is rejected and dischargedin a step S41. Thus, in order to receive the article placed in thearticle receiving/housing unit 1, the addressee has to input at least acomplementary amount of money in the IC card and perform the similaroperation as mentioned above. By contrast, when the balance stored inthe IC card shows that it is enough to pay the fee charged for thedelivery, the amount of money paid for the delivery of the article ofconcern is registered in the IC card, whereupon the monetary transactioncomes to an end (step S28).

When the key 2 of the article receiving/housing unit 1 is opened by thekey control unit 3 in a step S29, the addressee or receiver can take outthe delivered article from the article receiving/housing unit 1 in astep S30. Thereafter, the receiver pushes the input key 9 for therebymessaging the end of the reception processing to the arithmeticprocessing unit 7 in a step S31. As a result of this, the articlereceiving/housing unit I is locked by the key 2 under the control of thekey control unit 3 in a step S32. Subsequently, the informationregistered in the addressee ID number storing area 13 and theamount-of-money information storage unit 10 are erased in a step S33.Additionally, information displayed on the display unit 6 is also erasedin a step S34. Furthermore, the IC card is discharged from the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 under the control of the IC card control unit 4in a step S41, whereupon operation or procedure which allows theaddressee or receiver to take out the article delivered to him or herfrom the article receiving/housing unit 1 comes to an end (step S42).

As is apparent from the foregoing, by applying the electronic moneysystem or transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system based onthe use of the IC card to the electronic delivery service/receptionsystem 1a, it is possible to perform the processing for opening/closingof the article receiving/housing unit 1 with the key 2 and at the sametime the processing for the monetary transaction when payment uponreception of the article delivered is required. Parenthetically, theinformation of amount of money inputted to the IC card is transmitted toa center office of the delivery dealer or a bank, to be therebyprocessed correspondingly.

In the foregoing description of the transaction-oriented electronicaccommodation system applied to electronic home-by-home deliveryservice/reception system illustrated in FIG. 1, it has been assumed thatthe arithmetic processing unit 7 is incorporated in the electronicdelivery service/reception system 1a. However, the arithmetic processingunit 7 may collectively be provided in association with the electronicdelivery service/reception systems 1a to 1c or other and a centralizedmanagement/control unit 19, as will be described later on by referenceto FIG. 6. In that case, by transferring the open/close signal of thearticle receiving/housing unit 1 by the key 2 through the medium of theline control unit 8, a centralized management/control of the electronicdelivery service/reception systems 1a to 1c can be realized. In thatcase, the electronic delivery service/reception system 1a can beimplemented at low cost. In this conjunction, it should be mentionedthat there are displayed on the display unit 6 of the centralizedmanagement/control unit 19 the information concerning presence/absenceof the addressees, the room numbers of the addressees, the amount ofmoney and other information in the electronic delivery service/receptionsystems 1a to 1c, respectively.

At this juncture, it will be helpful for better understanding of theinvention to make complementary description of the ID number storageunit 11. It is presumed that the ID number storage unit 11 is destinedto store therein the family ID number information and the authorizeddealer ID numbers. Registration of the family ID number information canbe realized by inserting the IC cards of the members of a family afterhaving changed over the operation mode of the electronic deliveryservice/reception system 1a to the registration mode. Such change overis done, for example, by means of the input key 9 to thereby allow thefamily ID number information to be registered in the family ID numberinformation storing area 15. By virtue of such arrangement, any one of afamily can receive a delivered article destined for a member of thatfamily. Further, registration of the authorized dealer ID(s) can beperformed in a similar manner.

Furthermore, although it has been described in conjunction with theinstant embodiment that the room number of the addressee or receiver isinputted to the IC card of the dealer, it should be appreciated that theID number itself of the addressee may be inputted to the IC card.Besides, instead of registering the ID number information of all themembers constituting a family, it is equally conceivable to register theID number(s) of the IC card(s) issued to a specific person or persons ofthe family so that delivered articles can be received only by thatspecific person or persons. Additionally, for coping with such a casethat the balance is short of the amount of money as required, there mayalso be conceived a method of payment partially in cash or use of acredit card.

Next, by referring to a flow chart shown in FIG. 7, another exemplaryembodiment or application of the electronic delivery service/receptionsystem 1a will be described. In this case, the processing for allowingthe deliveryman to place an article(s) to be delivered in the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 is similar to the processing illustrated in theflow chart of FIG. 5. In the case of the procedure shown in FIG. 5, theaccounting processing (i.e., charged fee payment processing) is forciblycarried out at the time point the addressee receives an article asdelivered. As a consequence, in the case where an article which is notwanted by an addressee has been delivered, then a corresponding amountof money will be subtracted from the balance recorded in the IC card,which is of course undesirable for the addressee. To cope with suchunwanted situation, the procedure illustrated in the flow chart of FIG.7 is so programmed that when the ID number of the IC card of theaddressee coincides with the content registered in the addressee IDnumber storing area 13 (step S104), and when the amount-of-moneyinformation is written in the amount-of-money information storage unit10 (step S105) (i.e., when the charged fee payment processing oraccounting processing, to say in another way, is to be performed), theaddressee can first confirm the amount-of-money information and thecontent of the delivered article as displayed on the display unit 6before he or she operates the input key 9 for indicating readiness forreceiving the delivered article (step S106). Then, the succeedingprocessing can be performed. Thus, the addressee can reject reception ofany article which he or she does not want.

In the foregoing, description has been directed to the electronichome-by-home delivery service/reception system to which thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention is applied. Now, referring to FIG. 8, description will turn toan electronic laundry service/reception system to which thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to thepresent invention is applied. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 1 denotesgenerally an article receiving/housing unit 1, 1a denotes thetransaction oriented electronic accommodation system applied to theelectronic laundry service/reception system and 21 denotes a laundryarticle information storage unit for storing information concerningidentification numbers of article(s) to be washed and/or having beenwashed as well as quantity thereof. In the case of the instantembodiment of the invention, it is assumed that an addressee (i.e.,person who wants to have articles washed) places articles to be washedin the article receiving/housing unit 1 while a laundryman takes themout for washing the same and after the washing the laundryman puts thearticle or clothes into the article receiving/housing unit 1 from whichthe addressee takes them out. This procedure will be described below byreferring to flow charts of FIGS. 9 and 10.

At first, description will be directed to a procedure for an addresseeor orderer, to say in another word, to put article(s) or clothes to bewashed (hereinafter referred to as the laundry for short) into thearticle receiving/housing unit 1. When the orderer inserts his or herown IC card in the card insertion slot in a step S201, the IC card isfed into the electronic laundry service/reception system 1a under thecontrol of the IC card control unit 4. In succession, the ID number ofthe IC card is read out by the IC card read/write unit 5 to besubsequently supplied to the arithmetic processing unit 7 in a stepS202. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 7 confirms or checks whetheror not the ID number of the due addressee or orderer is stored in theaddressee ID number storing area 13 in a step S203. In this conjunction,when no article to be washed (i.e., the laundry) is placed within thearticle receiving/housing unit 1, this means that the ID number of theorderer (addressee) is not registered. Consequently, the processingproceeds to a step S204. At this time point, processing for confirmingwhether or not the ID number read out from the IC card is registered inthe authorized laundry dealer ID number storing area 14. Because the IDnumber of the addressee is not registered in the authorized dealer IDnumber storing area 14, the processing following the step 220 isexecuted.

When the article receiving/housing unit 1 is opened by unlocking it withthe key 2 (step S220), there is displayed on the display unit 6 the roomnumber of the orderer (client) together with a message informing thelaundry request in a step S221. Subsequently, the ID number of theorderer or client is registered in the addressee ID number storing area13 in a step S222. After the clothes to be washed have been placedwithin the article receiving/housing unit 1 (step S223), the client(addressee) can input the information concerning the content of thelaundry and the quantity thereof by manipulating the input key 9 (stepS224). Then, the information as inputted or registered is displayed onthe display unit 6 (step S225) and at the same time written in thelaundry article information storage unit 21 (step S226). When theorderer issues by pushing the input key 9 the information indicating theend of the processing to the arithmetic processing unit 7 (step S227),the article receiving/housing unit 1 is locked by the key 2 under thecontrol of the key control unit 3 in a step S228. Furthermore,information concerning the content of the laundry as well as thequantity thereof registered by the client or orderer is written into theIC card. In succession, the IC card is discharged under the control ofthe IC card control unit 4 in a step S229, whereupon operation forputting the laundry article or clothes in the article receiving/housingunit 1 is terminated (step S230). Parenthetically, the laundrydesignation and the quantity as registered by the orderer (addressee)may be printed out.

Next, description will be directed to operation involved when the dealer(e.g. a laundryman or washerman) takes out the article(s) to be washed(i.e., the laundry) from the article receiving/housing unit 1. To thisend, the dealer or laundryman inserts his or her own IC card in the cardinsertion slot in a step S201. Then, the IC card is fed into theelectronic laundry service/reception system 1a under the control of theIC card control unit 4. In succession, the ID number of the IC card isread out by the IC card read/write unit 5 to be subsequently supplied tothe arithmetic processing unit 7 in a step S202. Then, the arithmeticprocessing unit 7 checks for confirmation whether or not the ID numberof the orderer or customer (i.e., person who orders washing and to whomarticles washed are to be delivered is stored in the addressee ID numberstoring area 13 in a step S203. When an article or articles to be washed(i.e., the laundry) is housed within the article receiving/housing unit1, the ID number of the orderer is registered. Accordingly, theprocessing proceeds to a step S204. Next, in a step S241, presence orabsence of the information concerning the amount of money is checked. Ofcourse, such information is not stored in the amount-of-moneyinformation storage unit 10 before washing. Consequently, the processingproceeds to a routine which follows a step S270 shown in FIG. 10.

Referring to FIG. 10, it is checked for confirmation whether or not theID number of the laundryman is registered in the authorized dealer IDnumber storing area 14. In a step S271, the article receiving/housingunit 1 is unlocked with the key 2. In this conjunction, it will beappreciated that because only the authorized dealer can unlock thearticle receiving/housing unit 1 with the key 2, any unauthorizedoperation such as steal can positively be prevented. When it isconfirmed that the laundryman belongs to the authorized dealer, theninformation of the room number of the orderer (addressee or receiver) aswell as information concerning the articles to be washed and thequantity thereof is written in a memory incorporated in the laundryman'sIC card in a step S272. In that case, the information about the roomnumber is derived from the order's ID number on the basis of theinformation stored in the family ID number information storing area 15.

When the laundryman takes out the article to be washed from the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 in a step S273, then he or she pushes the inputkey 9 to inform the arithmetic processing unit 7 of the end of thelaundry take-out processing (step S274). In response, the key 2 of thearticle receiving/housing unit 1 is locked by the key control unit 3(step S275). Further, information stored in the addressee ID numberstoring area 13 and the laundry article information storage unit 21 iserased (step S276) with the displayed information on the display unit 6disappears (step S277). Finally, the IC card is discharged from theelectronic laundry service/reception system 1a under the control of theIC card control unit 4 (step S278), whereupon operation for taking outthe articles to be washed is completed.

Next, description will be directed to operations involved when thelaundryman (e.g. the washerman or washerwoman) puts the article(s)washed into the article receiving/housing unit 1. Referring to FIG. 9,when the laundryman inserts his or her own IC card in the card insertionslot in a step S201, the IC card is fed into the electronic deliveryservice/reception system 1a under the control of the IC card controlunit 4. In succession, the dealer's ID number of the IC card is read outby the IC card read/write unit 5 to be subsequently supplied to thearithmetic processing unit 7 in a step S202. Then, the arithmeticprocessing unit 7 checks for confirmation whether or not the ID numberof the due addressee (i.e., the due receiver for the articles washed) isstored in the addressee ID number storing area 13 in a step S203. Inthis conjunction, it will be appreciated that unless laundry is storedwithin the article receiving/housing unit 1, this means that the IDnumber of the addressee can not be registered. Subsequently, theprocessing proceeds to a step S204. At this time point, it is checkedwhether or not the ID number read out from the IC card is registered inthe authorized dealer ID number storing area 14 (step S204). When the IDnumber read from the IC card is found to be registered in the authorizeddealer ID number storing area 14, the processing proceeds to a stepfollowing a step 205 inclusive.

When the laundryman or deliveryman is confirmed as belonging to theauthorized dealer, information of the room number of the addressee dulyto receive the article washed (which information is stored in the memoryof the deliveryman's IC card) and information about the amount of moneyare read out by the IC card read/write unit 5 in a step S205. In casethe room number of the addressee or due receiver of the laundry is foundas being registered in the family ID number information storing area 15in a step S206, the article receiving/housing unit 1 is opened with thekey 2 in a step S207. However, when the room number is not registered,this means that no destination for the delivery exists in the buildingcurrently visited. Consequently, the IC card is returned to thedeliveryman (step S215), whereupon the processing now underconsideration comes to an end in a step S216.

When the article receiving/housing unit 1 is unlocked with the key 2,the room number of the due addressee or receiver is displayed on thedisplay unit 6, indicating that the article(s) washed is placed in thearticle receiving/housing unit 1 (step S208). Additionally, the IDnumbers of the individuals belonging to the addressee family are readout from the family ID number information storing area 15 by making useof the information of the room number, to be subsequently registered inthe addressee ID number storing area 13 in a step S209. Similarly,information about the amount of money is displayed on the display unit 6in a step S210 and stored at the same time in the amount-of-moneyinformation storage unit 10 in a step S211.

In this conjunction, such arrangement may also be adopted that theinformation about the amount of money displayed on the display unit 6disappears after having been displayed once and that the sameinformation can be displayed again upon insertion of the IC card by theaddressee. In that case, information about the content and the amount ofthe articles washed may simultaneously be displayed on the display unit6. To this end, the deliveryman may input in his or her IC card theinformation about the content and quantities of the articles washed sothat the information mentioned above can be read out to be displayed onthe display unit 6 after insertion of the IC card in the electroniclaundry service/reception system 1a.

When the dealer puts the article(s) washed into the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 in step S212, he or she can push the input key9 for messaging the end of the processing to the arithmetic processingunit 7 (step S213). As a result of this, the key 2 of the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 is locked by the key control unit 3 in a stepS214. Besides, the IC card is fed out from the electronic deliveryservice/reception system la under the control of the IC card controlunit 4 in a step S215, whereupon operation required for the laundrymanor deliveryman to place the article(s) of concern in the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 is terminated in a step S216.

Finally, description will turn to operation involved in reception of thewashed article(s) by the addressee or receiver from the articlereceiving/housing unit 1. Referring to FIG. 9, when the addressee orreceiver inserts his or her own IC card in the card insertion slot in astep S201, the IC card is fed into the electronic laundryservice/reception system 1a under the control of the IC card controlunit 4. Subsequently, the ID number of the IC card is read out by the ICcard read/write unit 5 to be subsequently supplied to the arithmeticprocessing unit 7 in a step S202. Then, the arithmetic processing unit 7confirms or checks whether or not the ID number of the due receiver oraddressee is stored in the addressee ID number storing area 13 in a stepS203. In this conjunction, it should be recalled that when an articlewashed is housed within the article receiving/housing unit 1, this meansthat the ID number of the addressee is registered. Accordingly, theprocessing proceeds to a step S240. In a step S241, presence or absenceof the amount-of-money information is checked. Since the amount of moneyis stored in the amount-of-money information storage unit 10 after thearticle(s) washed has been placed, the processing proceeds to a routinewhich follows a step 242 inclusive.

It is decided in the step S242 whether or not the ID number read outfrom the IC card is registered in the addressee ID number storing area13. This is for the purpose of preventing other person than the duereceiver or authorized dealers from taking out the article(s) from thearticle receiving/housing unit 1. When it is ascertained that the IDnumber of the IC card is that of the due receiver, then the informationabout the balance is read out from the IC card in a step S243 forconfirming whether or not the amount of money to be charged can beafforded (step S244). If the fee can not be accommodated by theremaining amount of money, this fact is displayed on the display unit 6in a step S260. Thereafter, the IC card is rejected and discharged in astep S252. Thus, in order to receive the article placed in the articlereceiving/housing unit 1, the addressee or receiver has to input acomplementary amount of money as information or data in the IC card andthereafter perform the similar operation as mentioned above. Bycontrast, when the balance stored in the IC card shows that it is enoughto pay the fee for the charge, the amount of money of concern issubtracted from the balance or deposit stored in the IC card, whereuponmonetary transaction comes to an end (step S245).

When the key 2 of the article receiving/housing unit 1 is unlocked bythe key control unit 3 in a step S246, the addressee or receiver cantake out the washed article from the article receiving/housing unit 1 ina step S247. Thereafter, the receiver pushes the input key 9 for therebymessaging the end of the processing to the arithmetic processing unit 7(step S248). As a result of this, the key 2 of the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 is locked under the control of the key controlunit 3 in a step S249. The amount-of-money information for thearticle(s) washed is written in the receiver's IC card as information ofa receipt. Subsequently, the information registered in the addressee IDnumber storing area 13 and the amount-of-money information storage unit10 is erased in a step S250. Additionally, information displayed on thedisplay unit 6 is also erased in a step S251. Furthermore, the IC cardis discharged from the article receiving/housing unit I under thecontrol of the IC card control unit 4 in a step S252. Thus, operation orprocedure which allows the addressee or receiver to take out the articlewashed from the article receiving/housing unit 1 comes to an end (stepS53). At this juncture, it should be mentioned that the amount-of-moneyinformation as well as that of quantity of the article(s) washed, etc.may be printed out as a receipt.

As is apparent from the foregoing, by applying the electronic moneysystem or transaction-oriented electronic store system based on the useof the IC card to the electronic delivery service/reception system 1afor a laundry operation, it is possible to perform processing for anopening/closing of the article receiving/housing unit 1 by the key 2 andat the same time processing for the monetary transaction. Accordingly,the laundryman can deliver the article washed to the receiver even whenlatter is absent.

Incidentally, information of the receiver's or addressee's room numberas well as information concerning the quantity of laundry can be readout by the dealer by using an electronic wallet. Besides, suchelectronic wallet may be used for writing or loading the addressee'sroom number information and the amount-of-money information in the ICcard.

In the foregoing description of the electronic laundry service/receptionsystem illustrated in FIG. 8, it has been assumed that the arithmeticprocessing unit 7 is incorporated in a plurality of electronic deliveryservice/reception system. However, the article receiving/housing unit 1and the centralized management/control unit 19 may be providedseparately so that a plurality of article receiving/housing units 1 canbe controlled by the latter, as described hereinbefore in conjunctionwith the electronic home-by-home (or door-to-door) delivery servicereception system. Registration of the family ID number information andthe authorized or designated dealer ID number may be performed inadvance, as in the case of the electronic home-by-home deliveryservice/reception system.

Although it has been described in conjunction with the instantembodiment that the room number of the addressee or receiver is inputtedto the IC card of the dealer, it should be appreciated that the IDnumber itself of the receiver may be inputted to the IC card. Besides,instead of registering the ID number information of a family, it isequally conceivable to register the ID number(s) of the IC card(s)issued to a person who asks the laundryman to wash so that the deliveredarticles can be received only by that client. Additionally, for copingwith such a case that the balance is short of the amount of money ascharged, there may also be conceived a method of payment partially incash or use of a credit card together with the method mentioned above.

In the IC card of the customer or client for the washing, the contentsof the laundry, the quantity thereof and amount-of-money information areinputted so that the IC card serves also as a receipt. In thisconjunction, it may be preferred to input the date information in the ICcard so that the contents of the records held by the IC card can easilyand conveniently be utilized for management. Besides, measures forenabling the contents of the records to be printed out should preferablybe adopted.

In the foregoing, the electronic home-by-home (or door-to-door) deliveryservice/reception system and the electronic laundry service/receptionsystem have been described as exemplary applications of the transactionoriented electronic accommodation system according to the presentinvention. At this juncture, other examples of the deliveryman's orlaundryman's IC card will be described. It is troublesome for thedeliveryman to manipulate the key 2 of the article receiving/housingunit 1 and transfer the information concerning the contents ofarticle(s), quantity thereof and the amount-of-money information byinserting the IC card every time the article is delivered. In thisconjunction, it should be mentioned that such troublesome procedure canbe spared by using a contactless IC card or a portable terminal. In thatcase, in the contactless IC card carried by the deliveryman in place ofthe receipts, there may be stored the room number of the addressee, thecontent of the article to be delivered, information about the quantitythereof, the amount-of-money information etc., wherein the informationmentioned above is transmitted to the transaction-oriented electronicaccommodation system 1a in a contactless manner to be thereby processed.Similarly, the portable terminal carried by the deliveryman should be soimplemented as to be capable of storing the room numbers of all theaddressees, the contents of articles to be delivered, quantitiesthereof, amounts of money, etc., so that when the deliveryman selects ahome to which the article of concern should next be delivered, theinformation relevant to that home or family can be transmitted totransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system 1a in a contactlessmanner to be thereby processed. Thus, the deliveryman can performunlocking of the article receiving/housing unit 1 as well as transfer ofthe information without need for inserting physically the IC card.

Finally, description will be made of another exemplary embodiments ormodification of the family ID number information storing area 15 in thetransaction oriented electronic accommodation system 1a. In the case ofthe embodiment described previously, the family ID number informationstoring area 15 is secured in a dedicated memory incorporated in theelectronic delivery service/reception system 1a. As a consequence ofthis, there arises necessity for the residents in an apartment house toregister the family ID number information in the above-mentioneddedicated memory in order to utilize the transaction-oriented electronicaccommodation system 1a. In this conjunction, it becomes necessary tomake available a memory for storing the family ID number information foreach of the families when the key for each room of the apartment houseis performed by the ID number of the IC card. For this reason, collationof the family ID number information is realized by making use of thefamily ID number information stored in the memory prepared for each ofthe families. In this case, necessity for registering again the familyID number information in the electronic delivery service/receptionsystem 1a.

Next, another application of the transaction oriented electronicaccommodation system according to the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an arrangement of anIC-card-operated electronic locker system to which the conceptunderlying the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation systemaccording to the present invention is applied. In FIG. 11, referencenumeral 1 denotes an article receiving/housing unit for receiving andhousing an article or articles such as luggage by a user, numeral 2denotes a door key of the article receiving/housing unit 1, 3 denotes akey control unit for controlling lock/unlock of the door key 2, numeral30 denotes a door open/close state signal output unit for outputtingdoor open/close information by detecting the states of the door of thearticle receiving/housing unit 1, numeral 31 denotes an IC-cardread/write unit for rewriting amount-of-money information stored in anIC card as inserted and for reading/writing a variety of information,numeral 32 denotes an IC-card insertion state signal output unit foroutputting state information indicating whether or not and IC card isinserted into the IC-card read/write unit 31, reference numeral 33denotes an ID information storage unit for storing ID information fromthe information contained in the IC card and read out by the IC-cardread/write unit 31, outputting a control signal for closing the door key2 while erasing the ID information as stored in response to an outputsignal indicative of settlement-of-account information which will bedescribed later on, numeral 34 denotes an ID information collating unitfor comparing the ID information read out from the inserted IC card withthe ID information registered to thereby output a signal uponcoincidence between the ID information of the IC card and the registeredID information, numeral 35 denotes a change-over switch unit forsupplying the ID information as read out either to the ID informationstorage unit 33 or the ID information collating unit 34 in dependence onthe door open/close information, numeral 36 denotes a control switchunit for controlling output of a signal inputted thereto on the basis ofthe information signal supplied from the IC-card insertion state signaloutput unit 32, numeral 37 denotes a first time counter for measuring atime (or temporal period) lapsed from when the door key 2 was closed toa point when the door key 2 is opened, numeral 38 denotes a chargecalculating unit for arithmetically determining or calculating a charge(i.e., amount of money) on the basis of the time lapse measured by thefirst time counter 37, numeral 39 denotes an accounting processing unitfor controlling the IC-card read/write unit 31 to rewrite theamount-of-money information stored in the IC card in accordance with thecharge calculated by the charge calculating unit 38 while transferringthe information concerning the change of the amount-of-money informationwith a management center, numeral 40 denotes a display unit fordisplaying a time for which the IC-card-operated electronic lockersystem has been utilized and the fee to be charged for the utilizationand/or the balance held in the IC card after the use of theIC-card-operated electronic locker system, and a reference numeral 41denotes an accounting settlement confirming unit for outputting a signalindicating settlement of the accounting processing by checking theresult of the processing executed by the accounting processing unit 39.

Now, description will turn to operation of the IC-card-operatedelectronic locker system. At first, let's assume that an article such asluggage is to be housed in an unoccupied compartment (corresponding tothe article receiving/housing unit) of the IC-card-operated electroniclocker system to which the transaction-oriented electronic accommodationsystem of the invention is applied. In that case, when a user who wantsto use a compartment of the IC-card-operated electronic locker system,he or she opens the door key 2 of the article receiving/housing unit orcompartment 1 and places article(s) such as luggage in the compartmentand inserts an IC card in the IC-card read/write unit 31. Then, the ICcard read/write unit 31 reads the ID information, whereupon a signalindicating the ID information as read out is sent to the change-overswitch unit 35. At this time, the door key 2 of the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 is unlocked (i.e., the door of the compartmentis opened). Thus, the door open/close state signal output unit 30outputs the information indicating the compartment door is opened(hereinafter referred to as the opened-door information). In response toreception of the opened-door information outputted from the dooropen/close state signal output unit 30, the change-over switch unit 35accepts the opened-door information supplied from the door open/closestate signal output unit 30 to thereby send the ID information from theIC-card read/write unit 31 to the ID information storage unit 33. Thus,the ID information storage unit 33 stores therein the ID information andat the same time supplies a control signal for causing the key controlunit 3 to lock the door key 2 to the control switch unit 36. The controlsignal mentioned above will hereinafter be referred to as the closecontrol signal. In this conjunction, it should be noted that the controlswitch unit 36 does not output the close control signal to the keycontrol unit 3 in response to the information outputted from the IC cardinsertion state signal output unit 32 and indicating the state in whichthe IC card is inserted in the IC-card read/write unit 31. By contrast,the control switch unit 36 can output the close control signal to thekey control unit 3 in response to the state information outputted fromthe ID-card insertion state signal output unit 32 in the state whereinformation of the IC card inserted is read out by the IC-cardread/write unit 31.

When the user takes out the IC card from the IC-card read/write unit 31,the key control unit 3 accepts the close control signal to thereby lockthe door key 2 of the relevant compartment of the articlereceiving/housing unit 1. At this time point, the door of the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 is closed. Accordingly, the door open/closestate signal output unit 30 outputs information indicating that the doorof the relevant compartment of the IC-card-operated electronic lockersystem is closed. This information will hereinafter be referred to asthe closed-door information. The first time counter 37 responds to theclosed-door information issued by the door open/close state signaloutput unit 30 to start measurement of the time lapse, starting from thetime point at which the closed-door information is received. Next,description will be directed to the operation or procedure required fortaking out an article (luggage) from a compartment of theIC-card-operated electronic locker system. By inserting an IC card intothe IC-card read/write unit 31, the IC-card read/write unit 31 reads outthe ID information from the IC card inserted, whereon the ID informationread out is sent to the change-over switch unit 35. At that time point,because the door of the relevant compartment of the IC card-operatedelectronic locker system is closed, the door open/close state signaloutput unit 30 outputs the closed-door information signal. Thechange-over switch unit 35 responds to reception of the closed-doorinformation for therebY outputting the ID information supplied from theIC-card read/write unit 31 to the ID information collating unit 34.Additionally, the ID information stored nm the ID information storageunit 3S is outputted to the ID information collating unit 34.

The ID information collating unit 34 compares the ID informationsupplied from the change-over switch unit 35 with the ID informationread out from the ID information storage unit 33 to check whether bothID information coincide with each other. When coincidence is detected,the ID information collating unit 34 outputs a time control signal. Ifotherwise, the time control signal is not outputted. The first timecounter 37 responds to reception of the time control signal to stop themeasurement of time, whereupon the occupation time during which thearticle receiving/housing unit 1 has been used (i.e., a time lapsed fromclosing of the door of the article receiving/housing unit 1 to theopening thereof) is calculated to be subsequently outputted. On theother hand, a first charge calculating unit 38 calculates the amount ofmoney to be charged for the use of the IC-card-operated electroniclocker system (hereinafter, the amount of money will also be referred toas the charged fee) on the basis of the time information supplied fromthe first time counter 37, whereupon the charged fee as calculated isthen outputted to the accounting processing unit 39. In turn, theaccounting processing unit 39 controls the IC-card read/write unit 31such that the charged fee is subtracted from the deposit stored in theIC card. Further, the accounting processing unit 39 operates to messagethe charged fee to the management center and at the same time issue thesettlement-of-account information. At this time, information concerningthe temporal duration of occupation, the charged fee and the amount ofdeposit money after subtraction of the charged money is displayed.

When the accounting settlement confirming unit 41 receives thesettlement-of-account information from the accounting processing unit39, the key control unit 3 unlocks the door key 2 of the articlereceiving/housing unit or compartment 1 and outputs to the controlswitch unit 36 a control signal for erasing the ID information stored inthe ID information storage unit 33. This control signal will hereinafterbe referred to as the unlock control signal. At this juncture, it is tobe noted that although the control switch unit 36 does not output thedoor-open control signal to the key control unit 3 in response to thestate information signal issued by the ID-card insertion state signaloutput unit 32 in the state where the IC card is inserted in the IC-cardread/write unit 31, the control switch unit 36 can output the door-opencontrol signal to the key control unit 3 and the ID information storageunit 33 when the state information signal outputted from the ID-cardinsertion state signal output unit 32 indicate that the IC card has beenremoved from the IC-card read/write unit 31. Then, the key control unit3 responds to the door-open control signal to thereby unlock the doorkey 2 of the article receiving/housing unit 1 or compartment whileerasing the ID information stored in the ID information storage unit 33.

When the deposit money booked in the IC card can not afford the paymentof the charged fee, the accounting processing unit 39 inhibits the IDinformation storage unit 33 from performing such control for rewritingthe information contained in the IC card. This situation is confirmed bythe accounting settlement confirming unit 41, whereby unsettled accountinformation is issued. In response to the unsettled account information,the first time counter 37 restarts the measurement of time with the doorkey 2 of the compartment 1 being left as locked. As will now beunderstood from the foregoing, in the IC-card-operated electronic lockersystem according to the instant embodiment of the invention, the lockercan be utilized even when the user is not carrying coins. Further, bysetting shorter the time interval for updating the charged fee, theIC-card-operated electronic locker system can be made convenient to theuser. By way of example, when the user who once closed the door key 2 ofthe compartment or article receiving/housing unit 1 and now wants toopen the door key 2, this can be accomplished by paying a smaller amountof money.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of the invention according to which thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system is applied toanother IC card-operated electronic locker system. In FIG. 12, thosecomponents or units serving for the functions same as or equivalent tothose shown in FIG. 11 are designated by like reference characters. InFIG. 12, a numeral 42 denotes a control button switch for controllingthe supply of the information from the key control unit 3 to the IDinformation storage unit 33 by on/off operation.

Now, referring to FIG. 12, description will be made of difference in theoperation of the IC-card-operated electronic locker system from thatshown in FIG. 11. When a user wants to place luggage in an unoccupiedcompartment or article receiving/housing unit 1 of the IC-card-operatedelectronic locker system, he or she inserts the IC card as in the caseof the system shown in FIG. 11. Then, the ID information storage unit 33stores the ID information read out from the IC card and at the same timeoutputs a door-close control signal to the control button switch 42. Inthat case, when the control button switch 42 is turned off, thedoor-close control signal can not be supplied to the key control unit 3.Accordingly, the key control unit 3 does not lock the door key 2 of thecompartment or article receiving/housing unit 1 but allows the door tobe left in the opened state, while the door open/close state signaloutput unit 30 continues to output the opened-door information.

Thus, the destination or sink of the signal outputted from thechange-over switch unit 35 remains to be the ID information storage unit33, which means that when another IC card is inserted for allowing theID information of another IC card to be registered, the information canbe stored in the ID information storage unit 33 as well. When thecontrol button switch 42 is turned on after storage of the required IDinformation of the IC card, then the door-close control signal can beinputted to the key control unit 3 from the ID information storage unit33. Processing following the operation mentioned above is similar tothat described hereinbefore by reference to FIG. 11. It should howeverbe mentioned that in the case of the IC-card-operated electronic lockersystem according to the instant embodiment of the invention, the doorkey 2 of the compartment or article receiving/housing unit 1 can beopened with the IC card which stores only the ID information. To saysuch in another way, a single compartment or article receiving/housingunit 1 can be used by a plurality of users.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing another exemplary embodiment of theIC-card-operated electronic locker system to which thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention is applied. In FIG. 13, those components serving functionswhich are the same as or equivalent to those illustrated in FIG. 11, aredesignated by like reference characters. The IC-card-operated electroniclocker system shown in FIG. 13 further includes an ID informationread-out unit 43 for reading out ID information of an IC card, aposition information output unit 44 for outputting informationindicating the location of the article receiving/housing unit 1, aposition detecting unit 45 for detecting the position of the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 which corresponds to the ID information readout by the ID information read-out unit 43 on the basis of the IDinformation stored in the ID information storage unit 33, the positioninformation outputted from the position information output unit 44 andthe ID information read out by the ID information read-out unit 43, anda position display unit 46 for displaying the position of the articlereceiving/housing unit 1 as detected, wherein the ID informationread-out unit 43, the position detecting unit 45 and the positiondisplay unit 46 are installed at a location in which the IC-cardoperated electronic locker system is installed, e.g. at an entrance of alocker room.

Now, description will turn to operation of the IC-card-operatedelectronic locker system by reference to FIG. 13, while putting emphasison differences from the system shown in FIG. 11. When the user comes toa place where the IC-card-operated electronic locker system is installedsuch as an entrance of a locker room for taking out luggage or the like,he or she inserts his or her IC card in the ID information read-out unit43 installed at the entrance. The ID information read-out unit 43 readsout the ID information from the IC card, which information is sent tothe position detecting unit 45. In response, the position detecting unit45 collates the ID information stored in the ID information storage unit33 with the position information about the article receiving/housingunits 1 or locker compartments supplied from the position informationoutput unit 44 to thereby search the ID information which coincides withthe ID information sent from the ID information read-out unit 43. Inthis manner, the position of the article receiving/housing unit 1 orcompartment utilized by the user of concern can be detected. In thissystem, operations and processing such as unlock/lock of the door key 2,settling of account and so forth are similar to those of theIC-card-operated electronic locker system described previously byreference to FIG. 11. With the arrangement of the IC-card-operatedelectronic locker system described above, the user can know ratherinstantaneously the position of the article receiving/housing unit 1 orcompartment in which he or she has stored article(s) such as luggage(s).

FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of theIC-card-operated electronic locker system to which thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention is applied. In FIG. 14, parts serving for the functions sameas or equivalent to those systems shown in FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 aredesignated by like reference numerals.

The IC-card-operated electronic locker system according to the instantembodiment of the invention corresponds to the IC-card-operatedelectronic locker system shown in FIG. 12. Such system is so arranged asto store a plurality of ID information in the ID information storageunit 33, wherein the system is added with the function for displayingthe position of the article receiving/housing unit 1 or compartment ofconcern, as described hereinbefore by reference to FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing yet another embodiment of theIC-card-operated electronic locker system to which thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention is applied. In FIG. 15, parts serving functions which are thesame as or equivalent to those systems shown in FIG. 11, are designatedby like reference numerals. The IC-card operated electronic lockersystem now under consideration further includes a preset time input unit47 for previously setting a time period providing a basis for chargingthe fee, and a second time counter 48 for determining by measurement adifference between the aforementioned preset time and a time lapsed fromthe closing of the door key 2 to the opening thereof, which is indicatedby the door open/close information.

Referring to FIG. 15, description will be made of any difference in theoperation of the IC-card-operated electronic locker system from that ofthe IC-card-operated electronic locker system shown in FIG. 11. In thefirst place, a time equivalent to an amount of money to be charged(hereinafter referred to as the in-advance fee) is set previously. Thepreset time input unit 47 outputs the preset time to the second timecounter 48 and the first charge calculating unit 38. When an articlesuch as luggage is to be placed in the article receiving/housing unit 1or compartment of the IC-card-operated electronic locker system, an ICcard must be inserted in the IC-card read/write unit 31, as describedhereinbefore by reference to FIG. 11. Then, the accounting processingunit 39 controls the IC-card read/write unit 31, such that thein-advance fee calculated by the first charge calculating unit 38 on thebasis of the preset time information available from the preset timeinput unit 47 is subtracted from the deposit recorded in the IC card. Atthe same time, the in-advance fee information is sent to the managementcenter.

Next, description will be directed to the procedure for taking out theluggage or the like from a article receiving/housing unit 1 orcompartment of the IC-card-operated electronic locker system. Asdescribed hereinbefore by reference to FIG. 11, the second time counter48 stops the measurement of time in response to the time control signaloutputted from the ID information storage unit 33, whereupon a timedifference between the preset time and the time period during which thearticle receiving/housing unit 1 or compartment has been occupied isdetermined. When the time period is longer than the preset time, theoperations or processings to be executed in succession is similar tothose described previously by reference to FIG. 11. However, when theoccupation time is shorter than the preset time, such arrangement may beadopted that the accounting processing unit 39 outputs thesettlement-of-account information or alternatively the IC-cardread/write unit 31 rewrites the deposit information so that the depositis increased by an amount of money equivalent to the difference betweenthe preset time and the occupation time. In the latter case, the amountequivalent to the difference is messaged to the management center.

FIG. 16 shows a yet further embodiment of the invention according towhich the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system isapplied to the IC card-operated electronic locker system. In FIG. 16,those components or units serving for the functions same as orequivalent to those shown in FIGS. 11 and 15 are designated by likereference characters.

The IC-card-operated electronic locker system according to the instantembodiment of the invention corresponds to the IC-card-operatedelectronic locker system described above by reference to FIG. 15, and isequipped with the function for charging a fee equivalent to a presettime. Such system is additionally provided with a function for storing aplurality of ID information in the ID information storage unit 33 withthe aid of the control button switch 42 described hereinbefore byreference to FIG. 12.

FIG. 17 shows a still further embodiment of the invention according towhich the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system isapplied to an IC-card operated electronic locker system. In FIG. 17,those components or units serving functions which are the same as orequivalent to those shown in FIGS. 11, 13 and 15, are designated by likereference characters.

The IC-card-operated electronic locker system according to the instantembodiment of the invention corresponds to the system described above byreference to FIG. 15, and is equipped with the function for charging afee equivalent to a preset time. Such system is additionally impartedwith a function for displaying the position information about thearticle receiving/housing unit or compartment described hereinbefore byreference to FIG. 13.

Further, FIG. 18 shows another embodiment of the invention according towhich the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system isapplied to the IC card-operated electronic locker system. In FIG. 18,those components or units serving functions which are the same as orequivalent to those shown in FIGS. 11, 12, 13 and 15 are designated bylike reference characters.

The IC-card-operated electronic locker system according to the instantembodiment of the invention corresponds to the locker system describedabove by reference to FIG. 15, and is equipped with the function forcharging a fee equivalent to a preset time. Such system is additionallyprovided with the function for storing a plurality of ID information inthe ID information storage unit 33 with the aid of the control buttonswitch 42 described hereinbefore by reference to FIG. 12, and thefunction for displaying the position information about the articlereceiving/housing unit or compartment described hereinbefore byreference to FIG. 13.

In the foregoing, the electronic home-by-home (or door-to-door) deliveryservice/reception systems, the electronic laundry service/receptionsystems and the IC card-operated electronic locker system to which thetransaction-oriented electronic accommodation system according to theinvention can be applied, have been described.

Moreover, the invention can find application to an electronic parkingmeter system equipped with a car blocking mechanism. More particularly,FIG. 19 is a block diagram of an electronic parking meter system towhich the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system accordingto the invention is applied. In FIG. 19, parts or components servingfunctions which are the same as or equivalent to those shown in FIG. 11,are denoted by like reference numerals and repeated description thereofare omitted. In this case, it is contemplated that a motor vehicle orcar is to be covered by the concept of the term "article". Theelectronic parking meter system further includes a second chargecalculating unit 49 for calculating an amount of money to be charged forthe parking (hereinafter referred to as the parking charge) on the basisof the information about the time measured by the first time counter 37and a discount information read out from the IC card by the IC cardread/write unit 31. Parenthetically, the key 2 is used in associationwith a car blocking or barrier mechanism.

Now, referring to FIG. 19, description will be made of functions newlyadded to the transaction-oriented electronic accommodation system forimplementing the electronic parking meter system of concern. In parkingzones (corresponding or equivalent to "article receiving/housing unit1") such as those of department houses, large-scale stores and the like,the parking charge is frequently discounted in dependence on amounts ofmoney spent in buying in the department house, etc. Thus, by writinginformation about the rate of discount in the IC card, the informationis read out upon insertion of the IC card in the IC-card read/write unit31 for unlocking the key 2, whereupon the information is outputted tothe second charge calculating unit 49 which then calculates the chargeon the basis of the discount rate information and the time measured bythe first time counter 37. Other operations and processings performed bythe electronic parking meter system are similar to those describedhereinbefore in conjunction with the IC-card operated electronic lockersystem by reference to FIG. 11.

FIGS. 20 to 26 show other exemplary embodiments of the invention. It isS believed that arrangements and operations of these illustrativesystems can be understood from the drawings by taking into account thedescriptions made by reference by FIGS. 11 to 18, without need for anyfurther description.

Many features and advantages of the present invention are apparent fromthe detailed description, and thus it is intended by that the appendedclaims cover all such features and advantages of the system which fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, sincenumerous modifications and combinations will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art, it is not intended to limit the invention to theexact construction and operation illustrated and described herein.

By way of example, by using the IC card as keys for rooms of hotels, itis possible not only to identify users, but also to performsettlement-of-account information processing without a need for payingthe charge in cash. Further, the transaction-oriented electronicaccommodation system according to the invention can find applications atentrances of theaters, cinematograph theaters, concert halls, ticketbarriers for transportation systems such as railways, automobiles,authorization for utilization of a set top box of a CATV or the like andaccounting for the same, admission to recreation parks and use offacilities, such as ski chair lifts and so forth. In addition, thepresent invention can find application for home use. In that case, theaccounting processing function may be spared. Additionally, the IC cardcan be used in place of a key for locking/unlocking a door whileaffording recording of the times for getting home, time for drop-in andothers.

Furthermore, the electronic accommodation system has a refund functionsuch as credit function so that after some amount of money was paid forthe article through the IC card in case of over-payment, the controlcenter will take in account a refund procedure and will proceed with arefund process for the IC card when the next services would beavailable. The refund may be carried out in the case where an accountingerror occurs, and the like. Therefore, a receiver or user can alsodemand a refund through the transmission line to the control center. Theterm IC card used throughout the embodiments of the present disclosuremeans an IC card including a memory and/or a processor (or CPU).

Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, and should be considered as falling within the spirit and scope ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electronic accommodation system for use withan IC card storing electronic monetary information and an identificationnumber, comprising:an IC card reader/writer which reads and writes ICcard information; an electronic money processor which processes theelectronic monetary information stored in the IC card; an IC cardcontroller which controls loading and unloading of the IC card to andfrom said IC card reader/writer; an identification number storing unitwhich stores the identification number of the IC card inserted into saidIC card reader/writer; an article accommodation unit which accommodatesarticles; a key controller which controls locking and unlocking of adoor of said article accommodation unit; and a collating unit whichcollates the identification number stored in said identification numberstoring unit with the identification number read out from the IC card,wherein on accommodation of an article in said article accommodationunit: insertion of the IC card is detected by said IC card controller;the identification number of the IC card is read out by said ICreader/writer; the identification number is stored in saididentification number storing unit; the door of said articleaccommodation unit is locked by said key controller, and wherein onextraction of an article from said article accommodation unit: insertionof the IC card is detected by said IC card controller; theidentification number and electronic monetary information stored in theIC card are read out by said IC card reader/writer; the identificationnumber of the inserted IC card is compared with the identificationnumber stored in said identification number storing unit by saidcollating unit; a charge is calculated with the electronic monetaryinformation stored in the IC card by said electronic money processorwhen consistency is found between the identification numbers; and thedoor of said article accommodation unit is unlocked by said keycontroller after the calculation of the electronic monetary information.2. An electronic accommodation system according to claim 1, wherein thecharge subtracted from the electronic monetary information in the ICcard by said electronic money processor, and thereafter, theidentification number is deleted from said identification number storingunit.
 3. An electronic accommodation system according to claim 1,further comprising: a time measuring unit which measures a time afterlocking the door by said key controller and stops measuring the timewhen a consistency between the identification numbers is detected,thereby said electronic money processor calculates a charge inaccordance with the time measured by said time measuring unit.
 4. Anelectronic accommodation system according to claim 1, wherein atransaction related to the electronic monetary information is suspendedat a time when a monetary deficiency is indicated by the electronicmonetary information in the inserted IC card against a charge on theextraction of an article from said article accommodation unit, and saidkey controller makes the door locked responsive thereto.
 5. Anelectronic accommodation system according to claim 1, wherein saidarticle accommodation unit is provided with a plural number of units,and a locating information output unit is also provided to outputlocating information of said article accommodation units.
 6. Anelectronic accommodation system for use with an IC card storingelectronic monetary information and an identification number,comprising:an IC card reader/writer which reads and writes IC cardinformation; an electronic money processor which processes theelectronic monetary information stored in the IC card; an IC cardcontroller which controls loading and unloading of the IC card to andfrom said IC card reader/writer; an identification number storing unitwhich stores the identification number of the IC card inserted into saidIC card reader/writer; an article accommodation unit which accommodatesarticles; a key controller which controls locking and unlocking of adoor of said article accommodation unit; and a collating unit whichcollates the identification number stored in said identification numberstoring unit with the identification number read out from the IC card,wherein on accommodation of an article in said article accommodationunit: insertion of the IC card is detected by said IC card controller;the identification number and the electronic money information of the ICcard are read out by said IC reader/writer; a charge is calculated withthe electronic monetary information by said electronic money processor;the identification number is stored in said identification numberstoring unit after calculation of the electronic monetary information inthe IC card; the door of said article accommodation unit is locked bysaid key controller; and wherein on extraction of article from saidarticle accommodation unit: insertion of the IC card is detected by saidIC card controller; the identification number of the IC card is read bysaid IC card reader/writer; the identification number of the inserted ICcard is compared with the identification number stored in saididentification number storing unit by said collating unit; and the doorof said article accommodation unit is unlocked by said key controllerwhen consistency is found between the identification numbers.
 7. Anelectronic accommodation system according to claim 6, wherein the chargeis subtracted from the electronic monetary information in the IC card bysaid electronic money processor.
 8. An electronic accommodation systemaccording to claim 6, wherein the identification number is deleted fromsaid identification number storing unit after unlocking the door of saidarticle accommodation unit.
 9. An electronic accommodation systemaccording to claim 6, wherein said article accommodation unit isprovided with a plural number of units, and a locating informationoutput unit is also provided to output locating information of saidarticle accommodation units.
 10. An electronic accommodation system foruse with an IC card storing electronic monetary information and anidentification number, comprising:an IC card reader/writer which readsand writes IC card information; an electronic money processor whichprocesses the electronic monetary information stored in the IC card; anIC card controller which controls loading and unloading of the IC cardto and from said IC card reader/writer; an identification number storingunit which stores the identification number of the IC card inserted intosaid IC card reader/writer; an article accommodation unit whichaccommodates articles; a key controller which controls locking andunlocking of a door of said article accommodation unit; and a collatingunit which collates the identification number stored in saididentification number storing unit with the identification number readout from the IC card, wherein on accommodation of an article in saidarticle accommodation unit: insertion of the IC card is detected by saidIC card controller; the identification number and the electronic moneyinformation of the IC card are read out by said IC reader/writer; acharge is calculated with the electronic monetary information by saidelectronic money processor; the identification number is stored in saididentification number storing unit after calculation of the electronicmonetary information in the IC card; the door of said articleaccommodation unit is locked by said key controller; and wherein onextraction of article from said article accommodation unit: insertion ofthe IC card is detected by said IC card controller; the identificationnumber and the electronic monetary information of the IC card are readby said IC card reader/writer; the identification number of the insertedIC card is compared with the identification number stored in saididentification number storing unit by said collating unit; a charge issubtracted from the electronic monetary information in the IC card bysaid electronic money processor when consistency is found between theidentification numbers; and the door of said article accommodation unitis unlocked by said key controller after subtracting the charge from theelectronic monetary information.
 11. An electronic accommodation systemaccording to claim 10, further comprising, a time measuring unit whichmeasures a time after locking the door by said key controller and stopsmeasuring the time when consistency is found between the identificationnumbers, thereby said electronic money processor calculates a charge inaccordance with the time measured by said time measuring unit.
 12. Anelectronic accommodation system according to claim 10, wherein atransaction related to the electronic monetary information is suspendedat a time when a monetary deficiency is indicated by the electronicmonetary information in the inserted IC card against a charge on theextraction of an article from said article accommodation unit, and saidkey controller makes the door locked responsive thereto.
 13. Anelectronic accommodation system according to claim 10, wherein saidarticle accommodation unit is provided with a plural number of units,and a locating information output unit is also provided to outputlocating information of said article accommodation units.